I was bored, and I’m new around here, so I thought I’d raise this thread from the dead for a moment to further introduce myself to you all.
I work between two jobs of dramatically different subject material—both of which you might say fall into the luxury retail clade, though I’m finding myself all but destined to add this forum’s subject matter to my resumé in due time.
In my first job, I work in a fine wine shop. I’m a professionally trained sommelier with several credentials in my title, though I’ve mostly placed that side of my life on the back burner since the plague. I’ve always enjoyed the agriculture and environmental influences, the chemistry and biological symphony, and the silent resting time in wood, all of which affect the resultant wine in the end. Though I do enjoy the occasional glass with friends, I don’t find myself much of a consumer of alcohol anymore, and seldom ever by myself. Something about the shared experience and olfactory spelunking into a glass of age’d elixir puts a smile on my face. I wonder if such a “blind tasting” group might be something ouddicts could get together over.
My second job finds me a short drive away at an old gun shop. Ours is an older type, servicing more hunter-oriented folks, and catering to the collectible market. Wartime relics and wheel guns, with your usual modern suspects aplenty. We specialize in purchasing and refurbishing used firearms for resale, and assisting folks in need of gunsmithing. I tend to bring a bit of my sommelier style to the shop in my interactions with folks, in an industry that’s otherwise rife with the more egotistical and opinionated types, I aim to charm and assist in meeting needs, rather than saddling someone with something unnecessary or unwieldy for their intended sporting or game purposes.
On my own time, I’m a professionally trained chef, and in the summer, I tend to an experimental garden every summer, with a focus on Japanese ingredients which I end up sharing with a local ramen chef in exchange for a meal once a week.